Man carrying array of knives arrested before boarding jet

May. 20, 2010 12:00 AMTribune Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - A man attempting to board a flight to Boston was stopped in Puerto Rico after his carry-on bag was found stocked with four box cutters, a switchblade knife, a stun gun and information about New York City, federal law-enforcement officials said Wednesday.

The man, identified as Jose Pol, 59, of Rhode Island, was arrested Tuesday at an airport-security checkpoint after screening of his carry-on bag led to a second, physical search that turned up the dangerous items. They also included pepper spray, two lighters, matches, scissors, a flight-simulation program and a wire device that sets off an electric charge.

Confronted with the contents in the bag, Pol was arrested and charged with attempting to carry dangerous weapons aboard Jet Blue Flight 860, about to depart from Puerto Rico's Luis Munoz Marin Airport in Carolina, Puerto Rico.